Sony Holds The Resident Evil VII Demo Hostage

It happened. A dream came true that most thought impossible. Sure rumors circulated the Internet for some time before its E3 debut, but we couldn’t possible believe them, could we? Could it be possible for Resident Evil VII to honestly go back to its horror roots after the trainwreck that was Resident Evil 6? Yes, it can and it looks horrifically creepy, delivering long-lost chills during its gameplay reveal trailer that so many of us wondered what it could possibly be…then the screen goes black just before revealing that a playable demo will be available that very same night! Later on that night, however, horror had ensued but not in the way we all expected…

After booting up the PS4 and heading to the PlayStation Store immediately after the press conference had ended, I was met by a particularly disgusting sight. Bannered below “Download Demo” was the PlayStation Plus symbol accompanied by the inexcusable word “Exclusive.” The biggest free demo released in recent months was being sealed behind a lock and key inaccessible to lowly, unsubscribed, but loyal Resident Evil players. This is not only appalling, but it’s also a massive slap in the face to all PlayStation owners. So far Sony has given us the Doom demo, the Final Fantasy XV demo and the Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens demo with or without a PlayStation Plus subscription, but now with arguably the most anticipated game shown at E3, they decided to lock down your demos? For shame, Sony. For shame…

The only possible reason to lock down Resident Evil VII’s demo would be to scoop up as many new PlayStation Plus subscriptions from desperate and long-time Resident Evil players who do not have or cannot afford the luxury of a PlayStation Plus membership. Now, when PlayStation first switched from free online to a paid subscription service, I never once complained. In fact, I defended their decision to do so as it cost them a large investment of resources to develop and run everything they have been doing with PlayStation Plus.

As a budget gamer myself, however, I had no choice but to forgo the online experience and miss out on all the fun of connecting online with friends and enjoying a multiplayer session. This wasn’t much of a big deal for me as I originally thought it would have been, as when a game did come out that I wanted to play with my friends online, I would just take a jot down to the store and pick-up a small mildly inexpensive 3-Month Membership for $17.99. Eighteen dollars wouldn’t break the bank and was a small price to pay in order to play games like GTA and Bloodborne for a few weeks before returning to my seclusion severed off from the online world.

On top of it all, Capcom confirmed that Resident Evil VII’s demo isn’t even actually part of the full game. Reports have also come in that the demo doesn’t really give a clear representation on how the full game will play out. Although, I am taking all this with a grain of salt as I am still very salty over the way Sony is treating its loyal Resident Evil fans by demanding that they pay out a full three to twelve month membership for a demo.

Resident Evil is a game I hold near-and-dear to my heart and after the utter trash Resident Evil VI turned out to be, I thought that the series had jumped the shark for good. The gameplay reveal was perfect and played out similar to P.T. until it finally pulled down the curtain revealing that Resident Evil could truly come back from the breaking point without missing a single beat. But what a punch in the gut to be given such a gift as a Resident Evil fan, only to be slapped in the face and spit on just because I don’t have a PlayStation Plus Membership.